Biopharma News

Moderna’s new manufacturing plant in Norwood, MA gives the company capacity for preclinical and Phase I and II clinical manufacturing for its mRNA development candidates, including personalized cancer vaccines.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical will acquire Visterra, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing antibody-based therapies, for approximately $430 million.

Teva Pharmaceuticals USA will move its US headquarters to Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ.

The company has received clearance from the United States Federal Trade Commission for the proposed acquisition of Shire, a deal valued at $62 billion.

Pfizer creates separate business units for innovator medicines, generic drugs, and consumer products.

The company opened its new global headquarters in Japan.

Sanofi will open a R&D operations hub in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China, with a focus on digitalization and big data analysis.

Biogen will pay Samsung BioLogics approximately $700 million to increase its stake in Samsung Bioepis to approximately 49.9%.

The pharma major intends to spinoff Alcon as a stand-alone eye-care devices company.

The companies will partner to develop T-cell therapies for cancer.

GW Research’s Epidiolex, which treats two forms of epilepsy, receives FDA’s approval; spurs FDA reminders about unapproved products.

The three-year collaboration will focus on developing vaccines for up to five infectious disease pathogens.

The company has resubmitted a biologics license application to FDA for its proposed biosimilar to Roche’s Herceptin.

The acquisition is expected to strengthen Sanofi’s R&D strategy with Ablynx’s nanobody technology platform.

The acquisition is expected to strengthen Roche’s personalized healthcare strategy.

Bayer completed its acquisition of Monsanto, the largest in Bayer’s history.

The companies will partner in research for HIV and hepatitis B immunotherapies, and Hookipa will manufacture arenavirus-based vectors for clinical development by Gilead.

WuXi Biologics will invest $60 Million to establish a biologics production facility in Massachusetts.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals and Complement Pharma will partner to develop a preclinical C6 complement inhibitor to treat neurodegenerative disorders.

The company will provide the first FlexFactory manufacturing platform for cell therapy manufacturing.

The agency has approved Mylan’s Fulphila (pegfilgrastim-jmdb) as the first US-approved biosimilar to Amgen’s Neulasta (pegfilgrastim) to reduce infection risk during cancer treatment.

EMA has recommended marketing authorization for Aimovig (erenumab), a new treatment for migraine.

The agency has recommended approval of three biosimilar adalimumab products from Novartis, referencing AbbVie’s Humira, and a biosimilar trastuzumab from Pfizer, referencing Roche’s Herceptin.

Bayer received conditional approval from the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice to acquire Monsanto in a deal worth $66 billion.

GE Healthcare and the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM) will support scale-up efforts by DiscGenics for a new cell therapy intended to treat back pain.

The European Commission has approved Zessly (infliximab), a biosimilar to Johnson & Johnson’s blockbuster Remicade (infliximab).

The gene therapy company is expected to invest $55 million in a new manufacturing facility that will produce therapies for rare neurological genetic diseases.

WuXi Biologics will build a biologics manufacturing facility in Singapore that will use both fed-batch and continuous perfusion-based single-use bioreactors.